Boron Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors based on the electric double-layer mechanism use porous carbons or graphene as electrodes. To move beyond this paradigm, we propose boron supercapacitors to leverage two-dimensional (2D) boron sheets’ metallicity and low weight. Six 2D boron sheets from both previous theoretical design and experimental growth are chosen as test electrodes. By applying joint density functional theory (JDFT) to the electrode–electrolyte system, we examine how the 2D boron sheets charge up against applied potential. JDFT predicts that these 2D boron sheets exhibit specific capacitance on the order of 400 F/g, about four times that of graphene. Our work suggests that 2D boron sheets are promising electrodes for supercapacitor applications.